Telling the story of the San and Damara

METUSALEM NEIB WRITES:

The research by the Cross–Cultural Trust of Namibia (CCTN) is about the San peoples and Damara population's roots in the country by telling stories about their history, events and trends in that history.

CCTN's deepest need is for these two cultural groups to feel understood, accepted and respected. Its primary goal is to teach the history of these two cultural groups, open people’s minds and rouse their curiously and let people discover that their history is enjoyable and understandable.

Since they have been in existence for so many centuries, the San and Damara are an important component of peaceful Namibia.

There is a special value in our international contacts, therefor the appointment of special envoys by the German and Namibian governments. The two cultural groups that have taken part in genocide and reparations discussions, the Ovaherero and Nama, have given evidence of that. But the treatment of the San and Damara has always been an embarrassing aspect for Namibia and is again currently in an international context.

While from 2016 until 2018 the German and Namibian government’s special envoys have been disposed towards improving the situation for the present day San and Damara, nothing has been done to deal with the issue of reparations for the atrocities these groups suffered and no decision has been taken in this regard.

What the CCTN hope for now is reconciliation. That is coming to terms with what has happened and trying to create something positive for the future.

To date, the German government's special envoy, Mr. Rupretch Polenz and the Namibian special envoy, Dr. Zed Ngavirue have not iniated a collective apology for what was done to the San and Damara during German colonialism. This is of great importance for the nation’s unity and to strengthen Namibia's constitutional democracy.

During the period of German colonialism there was no nationalism to protect these two cultural groups and it sovereignty. The warlords and leaders of Germany, the Ovaherero and Nama were competing for power. These powers could and/or would not cooperate with each other and monopolized the legitimate use of violence and physical force within Namibia's territory.

The San people's lives had purpose, substance and a history kept alive by a strong oral tradition. During ancient time it built no permanent housing, this because they were hunters and gatherers different from today San.

The fact the San was seen as not claiming ownership of land meant to the Germans that they could settle this uninhabited country and claim ownership wherever they pleased. This was firstly done in the coastal areas which were more fertile and there was an abundance of food.

The San was forced further and further inland where they found it more and more difficult to survive. This meant that they were forced into killing and eating domestic livestock as a mean of survival, but this of course was seen as punishable crime by the Germans.

Some San populations become dependent on white settlements for food supply, but it also meant that they were at the mercy of the whites and there are cases where San were deliberately shot dead.

In 1915 hunting by the San was banned. Ironically, nowadays the San people do not recall these atrocities.

The Damara chief played a crucial role in preserving his people. Reports of late Paramount Chief Cornelius Goreseb dates back to the 18th century and the oldest historically reliable information about the Damara population.

The journeys of Christian missionaries to the central and southern parts of Namibia describe that the San and Damara lived all over the country, but mostly in the central parts of Namibia.